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What the heck is going on?

I have no clue what the heck is going on. The Momster doesn't go anywhere near my seed collection. She wouldn't switch things around on me.
I have been extremely diligent in labelling seeds and sprouts and everything very carefully. I paid as much attention to what went where as I did when I was dispensing patient medication while I was a nurse.
Gremlins? I'm starting to think so.
The first, I don't see where a mistake could be made.
The second, it's possible.
The third, I guess.
The fourth, no f'ing way.

I don't have a picture of the first WTF moment of this season, but what I thought were my aribibi gusano seeds somehow grew into something looking more like a marconi. Thing is, I didn't save any of those seeds from last season. The peppers are sold at a local Home Depot, so I just figured I'd buy a few from there rather than go through the process of collecting seeds, storing, germinating, etc.


I don't have a pic of the "gusano" pepper, I'll take one tomorrow and update. It looks nothing like a gusano, and the one pod on it is the size and shape of a giant marconi.

The second is my Antillais Caribbean habanero.
antillaiscaribsmaybe949.jpg

Doesn't look like and Antillais Caribbean. I haven't had one before this year so I have no memory to do a taste comparison. They're tasty, though, whatever they are.


The third is my 7 Pot Jonah, which I've stolen inspiration for and named the NOT 7 Pot Jonah.
ihavenofingclue0303888.jpg

It's yellow. It doesn't look like my other Yellow 7 Pot pods. Shape and size are completely different.


OK, up till now, I can maybe chalk it up to human error, though I do not for a second believe that. I can see myself making one error, maybe even two(that's a stretch, I'm very organized), but no way can I see myself mislabelling three batches of seeds. No way at all.


Now, here's where it gets very strange and made me throw my hands up today and say Frak it, I'm done with trying to figure it out.
My chocolate habanero.
10017360193231.jpg



It's f'ing RED. What in the nine hells is going on?
That pod looks exactly like the chocolates I grew last year, both in shape and size. The plant is growing in a similar fashion. One of the unripe pods from that plant fell off and I split it open, it smelled like an unripe chocolate hab.
I have never grown a pepper that looks like this. Any seeds I got last fall in trades were kept in a separate drawer, still in the envelope they came in, so it's not a seed I traded for. I'm going to eat that thing, and I'm really hoping it tastes like a choccy hab.


This is the strangest year I've ever had. I have no damned idea what is going on in my garden.
 
looks like your Antillais met up with a Naga, as far as the others I have no clue, except for the fact I got yellow myster pods that look like your NOT Jonahs
 
Do you have yard gnomes? I hear they are a real nuisance! lol

Sorry to hear about that. Maybe the seeds were labeled right, but pollinated different for the chocs. If thats possible. It looks good though.
 
Welcome to the world of pepper cross pollination in our many gardens. I have Bonda Ma Jacques that look exactly like my Orange Habaneos, Orange 7 Pots that look like ghost peppers, some Chocolate BigBang that are big red Nagas, and best of all I have a regular Bhut Jolokia that riped beautiful yellow. Use this as a lesson to choose your best plants and isolate, isolate, isolate. Another reason I grow more than one of each type of plant you never are really sure till the pods finally turn ripe. :banghead:
 
Skydiver.... My Jonahs started off light green, went to yellow, then a peachy colour and finally to red. Although your pics don't look to be the same yellow it's sometimes a little hard to tell from a photograph.
 
Where did you get your seeds from? First looks like a Naga (but too smooth), second a Fatali third a Congo Trini.

Maybe the first one is that supposed "Long Caribbean Red Habanero" going around, who knows.

Next year, try to get your seeds from a better source. That's probably why they are not what they are supposed to be.
 
Definantly mutations, no wait you carefully cross pollinated those didn't you you sly dog!

Do we look for listings on E-Bay? :rofl:


Serious though i thought there was a chance of genetic throwbacks in even the most isolated situations but your many examples do point towards cross pollination. Save some seed from your favourite "F" up and see if you can isolate for pure seed. :)
 
Sad to say, but I've read a lot of post where seeds where suppose to be x, but instead they are y, or it's some freak plant that was a cross of x,y,z. That's the main reason, why I have purchased all of my seeds from a trusted source with the exception of a few non super hots hear and there. Although you may have been deligent your seed supplier may have not been. Good luck with whatever you end up growing.
 
cross polination would not show onlast years pods but the seed is an entirely different story. a lot of gardens i see have the peppers so close together. i'm guilty of it myself this year more so that any previous year so i might end up with the same issue. i've always given thm enough space but this year they are much closer together. your issue has to be cross polintation. our buddies the bees can play some pretty crazy tricks on us! who knows you might come up with the next great cross. enoy them for what they are.
 
I always force pollinate a few flowers from each variety, remove petals to discourage insect interest and mark it with string or perm marker, when the pod ripens I remove it, collect seeds dry them then add them to little plastic ziplock baggies labeled for variety and year (and F generation for crosses). When I grow from seed the next year, I take some seed from each year of that variety to germinate.

Also I take early pods (to collect seed) from plants far away from other blooming plants of different variety, exceptions being when no other variety is in bloom at the time of set.

It's not 100% reliable, not by a long-shot, but I have not had a surprise yet.
 
Welcome to the world of pepper cross pollination in our many gardens.

Yep, lesson learned, that's for sure.
Now, the plants I have that are first year seeds from stock I know is true are getting multiple flowers on them bagged up with these triangular teabags I have from some herbal crap that sounded good but wasn't.

Sure, it's brought to a screeching halt a few of my sauce/concentrate ideas, but it's all good. I'll just make a yellow version and a red version and do better next year.

The chocolate habs, btw, I'm 99% sure that they crossed with a Red Devil's Tongue.
 
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